London horses latest: Army issues fresh update on injured Household Cavalry horses

In an update on Monday, the army also said the two of the soldiers hurt when the horses escaped were still receiving treatment but were expected to make a full recovery.

“Two horses underwent surgery. One, Quaker, a Cavalry black, has shown significant improvement and progresses towards what is expected to be a full recovery,” the army said in a statement on X.

“The other horse, Vida, a grey, continues to make progress. He remains under close and careful professional veterinary observation as his wounds heal.”

A South Yorkshire police mounted officer has said he was “viscerally moved by the sight of the horses running loose in London last week”.

Here are his observations on the use of horses for policing:

Exclusive: The Horses Trust – already home to many retired military horses – has offered to rescue the stricken pair.

Formed in 1992, The Household Cavalry is made up of the two most senior regiments in the British Army: The Life Guards and The Blues & Royals.

It is divided into the Household Cavalry Regiment and the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, according to its website.

The Household Cavalry Regiment, based at Combermere Barracks in Windsor, is the corps’s operational wing of four squadrons – and fights as part of the Royal Armoured Corps.

The two horses are believed to have travelled from Belgravia, near Buckingham Palace, all the way to the East London area of Shadwell.

The British Army has denied claims they only exercise their Household Cavalry horses for “one hour a day” after two horses embarked on a six-mile bloody rampage through central London.

It came after an alleged whistleblower, who said they worked with horses Quaker and Vida for two years, claimed barracks were dark and rat-infested and dirty water was regularly given to the horses.

Giving her name as Kate, she claimed she had worked with horses at the barracks for two years, before leaving earlier this year.

“Those horses are so nervous. They are ready to explode. I don’t think it’s a healthy environment. It doesn’t provide what a horse needs, and space,” she told LBC.

Two soldiers who were injured when their horses bolted in central London last week continue receiving treatment but will make a full recovery, the army has said.

“Two horses underwent surgery,” the army said in a statement on X.

“One, Quaker, a Cavalry black, has shown significant improvement and progresses towards what is expected to be a full recovery.

“The other horse, Vida, a grey, continues to make progress.

“He remains under close and careful professional veterinary observation as his wounds heal.

“We are so thankful for everyone’s concern and expressions of support, and for all those involved in their care.

“Healing takes time – please be patient as we support that process. The soldiers and horses are all receiving the very best of care.”

Blood-soaked cavalry horses on the loose is the perfect way to sum up 2024, writes Will Gore.

When London was brought to a standstill by a herd of rampaging military horses last week, it was perhaps inevitable that talk of portents and omens would quickly take hold. With Big Ben’s clock having stopped at around the same time, there was a degree of excitement about the end being nigh.

Read Will’s piece in full here: